Horace Slughorn
Professor Horace Eugene Flaccus1110 Slughorn (b. 28 April,1between 1882 and 19132) was a British pure-blood or half-blood3wizard. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a member of Slytherin before returning in 1931 as Potions Master. He also served as Head of Slytherin House, before retiring in 1981 due to a fear that Albus Dumbledore would discover that he had told Tom Riddle about Horcruxes. Physical appearance Slughorn was described as being an enormously fat, bald, old man. He was short with an immense belly, so large that the buttons on his waistcoat usually threatened to burst off. His round stomach was usually said to precede him when he entered rooms, and when he stood, the top of his head barely reached Albus Dumbledore's chin. His girth was seen to take up most of the compartment of the Hogwarts Express and occupy at least a quarter of Honeydukes Sweet Shop. He was described as having a shiny pate, prominent, gooseberry colored eyes, and an enormous, silver, walrus-like moustache. Magical abilities and skills * Occlumency: Horace was an extremely able Occlumens, with his skills being acknowledged by even Dumbledore, who deemed him to be much more capable in it than Morfin Gaunt. His mastery would have allowed him to resist even a Legillimens of Albus Dumbledore's calibre as well as the effects of Veritaserum, which made Dumbledore refuse to use such forceful and coaxing methods against Slughorn due to his ability to repel them. * Memory modification: Horace was able to modify his own memory to make it seem something less horrible, as seen in the case of Tom Riddle asking about Horcruxes. However, this was crudely done, as parts of the memory were clouds with a booming voice, rather than an actual visual. * Transfiguration: Despite his wide frame, Horace was extremely agile and displayed impressive skills in Transfiguration, being able to create the impression of a struggle within his house in a matter of seconds and transforming himself into an armchair; Human Transfiguration is something only a master of that art can accomplish.15 * Duelling: Slughorn was a highly accomplished duellist, being able to survive the Battle of Hogwarts, later claiming that he was able to dispatch many Death Eaters by himself to Sprout and Flitwick after the battle. Alongside Minerva McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt, he was even able to contend with Voldemort himself, only being overpowered when Voldemort's rage over Belatrix's death caused him to lash out, although it must be noted that Voldemort was wielding the Elder Wand at the time without having achieved mastery over it and Harry Potter's loving sacrifice was weakening the power of Voldemort's spells. Being capable of duelling such a powerful Dark Wizard although, was testament to his superb skills in martial magic.19 * Potioneer: Perhaps chief among Slughorn's many talents was his ability as a potioneer. Slughorn was able to create extremely complicated Potions such as Felix Felicis, the Polyjuice Potion, and Amortentia. He was extremely proficient in Potions, having taught the subject up to N.E.W.T. level, and was even seen to be at least on par with, if not superior to, Severus Snape in the subject, considering he was Snape's teacher on Potions, as he understood and agreed with Snape's edits of a copy of Advanced Potion-Making. He also fully understood Golpalott's Third Law to the letter and was flawlessly proficient with Antidotes as he was able to recite a long and complicated theory of them to a class of N.E.W.T students and swiftly, with no effort, make a perfect remedy for a very powerful Amortentia. He was also said by Dumbledore to be capable of brewing an antidote to Veritaserum, which he has always carried in order to prevent Dumbledore from using Veritaserum to coerce the true memory when Voldemort asked about Horcruxes out of him.15 * Non-verbal magic: As a testament to Slughorn's considerable magical abilities, he was capable of effectively performing nonverbal magic, something that only wizards and witches of outstanding skill can perform. In 1996, Slughorn aided Albus Dumbledore in fully restoring an entire room that had been torn to pieces with "one identical sweeping motion" of their wands without saying anything. He extracted one of his own memories from his temple for Harry Potter with no incantation. It is also noteworthy that Slughorn was able to cast non-verbal spells during his duel with Voldemort, an incredibly impressive magical feat. * Charms: Slughorn was able to repair a whole room with one spell (with Dumbledore's help), give Harry one of his memories and cast the Anapneo charm easily and without fail. He was also capable of producing a non-corporeal Patronus,9 a mark of superior magical ability, meaning he would have been highly gifted with charms given the immense difficulty of casting the charm. Relashonships Lily Evans During her time at Hogwarts, Lily Evans proved to be very talented at Potions, becoming one of Slughorn's best students and a member of his Slug Club. Slughorn considered her one of his favourite students, though he was surprised by her Muggle lineage. Slughorn believed Lily to be a kind, witty, and charming student, and he doubted that anyone who met her wouldn't like her. Harry potter Horace Slughorn first met Harry Potter in 1996, when Harry and Albus Dumbledore tracked him down at the Muggle home he was borrowing at the time, to persuade him to return and teach at Hogwarts. Given Slughorn's tendency to "collect" famous, well-connected, or talented young minds, Slughorn gave in to Dumbledore's request upon meeting Harry. He became Potions Master for the 1996–1997 school year, and wasted no time in inviting Harry to join his 'Slug Club'. With the help of the Half-Blood Prince's Potions textbook, Harry appeared to be following in his mother's footsteps as a great potioneer, which further earned Slughorn's favor. Tom riddle (lord Voldemort) Professor Slughorn was the Potions Master during Tom Riddle's years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As Head of Tom's House, and given his tendency to favour students who displayed talent of some sort, Slughorn became Riddle's mentor, and was likely the professor Tom liked most. Riddle became a favourite of Slughorn's which Tom knew, and so he often manipulated Slughorn by flattering him. Albus dumbledore Albus Dumbledore and Horace Slughorn were colleagues at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1931 until 1981, when Slughorn retired and Severus Snape took his place as Potions Master. As Slughorn was equally disinclined to join the Order of the Phoenix as the Death Eaters, Dumbledore most likely accepted Slughorn for the fairly self-serving, but overall harmless and genuinely talented Wizard he was. Dumbledore asked Slughorn to resume his old position in 1996, and Slughorn accepted after being enticed with the prospect of being able to teach Harry Potter. Slug club Slughorn prefers to associate with well-connected students or those with promising future careers. The coterie of students that he has collected around himself is nicknamed the 'Slug Club', from the first part of his surname. Horace believed all of his favourites had the potential to become highly successful, and hoped to benefit in the future from fostering connections with them early on. Some of his former students who had already met or exceeded his expectations by the time he resumed teaching at Hogwarts in 1996, were Ambrosius Flume, Dirk Cresswell, Barnabas Cuffe, Eldred Worple, Gwenog Jones, and Wendy Slinkhard. Arthur Weasley Horace Slughorn didn't seem to think much of Arthur Weasley, believing he wasn't a "highflier" or powerfully, gifted wizard while teaching him at Hogwarts, despite Arthur being pure-blooded, choosing to favour students who were magically talented and had strong connected with other powerful, talented wizards. Due to this preferential treatment, Arthur disliked Slughorn as a result and this relationship with Slughorn was later echoed with Arthur's son, Ron Weasley, as Slughorn ignored Ron the same way he had ignored Arthur. However, considering they both fought against Voldemort's forces in the Battle of Hogwarts, it is possible their opinions on each other eventually changed. Hogwarts staff Horace Slughorn had a good relationship with most members of the Hogwarts staff. In addition to having been an old friend and long-time colleague of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Slughorn was quite friendly with the other members of the Hogwarts staff. Etymology * Horace' was the name of an epicurean Roman poet, fond of food and someone who liked to make friends with people of influence. * 'Eugene' is comes from the Greek εὐγενής (eugenēs), "noble", εὖ (eu), "well" and γένος (genos), "race, stock, kin". As such, the name means literally "well-born". * 'Flaccus' was a cognomen of the ancient Roman plebeian family Fulvius, considered one of the most illustrious gentes of the city. As usual for cognomina, "Flaccus" was likely originally a nickname, probably of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus, the founder of the family. It has been variously interpreted as meaning "big ears", "flop ears", "floppy", or "fatty". * Slughorn - a 'slug' refers to the garden slug, a cousin to the snail but without the shell. Additionally, 'Slughorn' is a historical heraldic term meaning 'war-cry', derived from an old Scottish word and later becoming the modern 'slogan', but may also be derived from his large, sluggish physique. Appearances * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance) * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Heard in flashback(s)) * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (As a picture in the middle of the Wingardium Leviosa''and ''Lumos classes) * LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 * The Making of Harry Potter * Pottermore * Harry Potter: The Character Vault * Harry Potter: The Creature Vault * LEGO Dimensions Notes and references # ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Horace Slughorn fact file" from Pottermore # ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn)" reveals that Horace Slughorn began teaching in 1931. Children graduate from Hogwarts when they are (or about to turn) eighteen. The latest date Slughorn can be born in order to begin teaching in September of the year he graduated, is 28 April 1913. The earliest possible birthdate is 1882, as Dumbledore commented in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) that "You're not yet as old as I am, Horace." # ↑ 3.0 3.1 On Writing by J.K. Rowling: "Pure-Blood" at Pottermore, the Slughorns are mentioned to have been included in the Pure-Blood Directory published in Britain in the 1930s. As Horace Slughorn was already alive by 1930, and given his views, he was likely pure-blood, but also may have been a half-blood in the pure-blood family like some Malfoys - see Writing by J.K. Rowling: "The Malfoy Family" at Pottermore # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) Disc 2, Additional scenes, Harry and Hermione Discuss Marauder's Map. # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) - "Where a split second before there had been an armchair, there now crouched an enormously fat, bald, old man who was massaging his lower belly and squinting up at Dumbledore with an aggrieved and watery eye." # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 17 (A Sluggish Memory) - "Harry was so used to him bald that he found the sight of Slughorn with thick, shiny, straw-colored hair quite disconcerting; it looked as though he had had his head thatched, though there was already a shiny Galleon-sized bald patch on his crown. His moustache, less massive than it was these days, was gingery-blond." # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) - "His pale gooseberry eyes had found Dumbledore’s injured hand." # ↑ 9.0 9.1 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 # ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.2010.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 10.33 Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 5 (An Excess of Phlegm) - "“He was at Hogwarts for ages, started around the same time as Dumbledore, I think." # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 7 (The Slug Club) # ↑ Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn) reveals that he left Hogwarts in 1981 when he achieved "half a century" of service to the school meaning he started in around 1931 # ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4 (Horace Slughorn) # ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince # ↑ Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists - "three nights after the death of Cedric Diggory", which was 24 June, 1995 # ↑ 19.0 19.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows # ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 # ↑ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act Four, Scene Fourteen -Scorpius says "Oh, you will, undoubtedly, probably that new smoky-eyed Potions professor - she's old enough for you, right?" 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